São Paulo
são paulo 1.jpg são paulo 2.jpg são paulo 3.jpg são paulo 4.jpg são paulo 5.jpg são paulo 6.jpg Introduction São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, and in the Southern hemisphere. Although many see it mainly as a business centre, and tourists prefer to head out to Rio de Janeiro, the city actually has a large cultural heart, with a large collection of museums. Location 23°33'S 46°38'W São Paulo is located in Southeastern Brazil, approximately halfway between Curitiba and Rio de Janeiro. Rio de Janeiro is 430 kilometres from São Paulo. Things to Do There are many museums in São Paulo: *Museu Paulista: Also populary known as "Ipiranga Museum", the first monument especially built to preserve the memory of the Independence of Brazil, opened on 7 September 1895, with the name of Museu de Ciências Naturais (Natural Science Museum). In 1919, it became once again a historic museum. Having the architectural influence of the Versailles Palace in France, the Ipiranga's collection, with approximately 100000 pieces, comprises works of art, furniture, clothing, and appliances that once belonged to famous people who took part in Brazilian history, such as explorers, rulers, and freedom fighters. Its facilities are also home to a library with 100000 books and the "Centro de Documentação Histórica," Historic Documentation Center, with 40000 manuscripts. *Memorial da América Latina: Stretching over 78000 square metres, Memorial da América Latina (Latin America's Memorial) was conceived to be a place for the integration of Latin American countries and their roots and cultures. Memorial is home to the headquarters of Parlamento Latino-Americano – Parlatino (Latin American Parliament). Designed by the architect Oscar Niemeyer, Memorial has an exhibition pavilion, where there is a permanent exhibition of the continent's craftwork production; a library with books, newspapers, magazines, videos, films and records about the history of Latin America; and an auditorium with capacity for 1679 people. *Museu da Imigração e Memorial do Imigrante: Memorial of the Immigrant, "Memorial do Imigrante. Hospedaria do Imigrante (Immigrant's Hostel) was built in 1886 and opened in 1887, when the first immigrants were housed there. The Immigrant's Hostel was built in Brás to welcome the immigrants who arrived in Brazil through the Port of Santos, quarantining those who were sick and helping new arrivals to find work in coffee plantations in Western, Northern, and Southwestern São Paulo State and Northern Paraná State. From 1882 to 1978, 2.5 million immigrants of more than 60 nationalities and ethnicities were guests there, all of them duly registered in the museum's books and lists. The hostel used to serve approximately 3000 people on average, but under special circumstances, this number reached 8000. The hostel received the last immigrants in 1978. In 1998 the Hostel became a museum, and it preserves the documentation, memory and objects of the immigrants that came to Brazil in search of hope and wealth. Located in one of the few centenarian buildings left in the city of São Paulo, the museum occupies part of the former Hostel. Aside from bringing the immigrants' history to the public, the museum also restores wooden train wagons from the former São Paulo Railway. There are two restored wagons in the museum. One of them dates from 1914, and another one a second class passenger car, dates from 1931. The Memorial do Imigrante pays homage to the ancestors of millions of Brazilians who arrived through the port of Santos and had São Paulo as a gateway to Brazil. It is possible to find in the museum the names of all immigrants who were hosted there from 1888 to 1978. *Museu de Zoologia da USP: Occupying an area of 700 square metres, the animals shown in the museum are samples of the country's tropical fauna and were prepared (embalmed) more than 50 years ago. In the entrance hall, there is information about the main activities carried out by USP's staff and by the museum's researchers. The animals are grouped together according to their classification: fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, and some invertebrates such as reefs, crustaceans and mollusks. The library, specialized in zoology, has modern facilities and equipment and serve both the scientific community and the public in general. It has 73850 works, of which 8473 are books and 2364 are newspapers, in addition to theses and maps. *Museu de Arte de São Paulo: São Paulo Museum of Art, "Museu de Arte de São Paulo" in Downtown São Paulo. The museum was founded by the journalist Assis Chateaubriand and by Pietro Maria Bardi. Its current headquarters, opened in 1968, were designed by the architect Lina Bo Bardi. Two enormous colonnades support the 9200 ton building, forming a 74-metre free space. MASP has one of Latin America's most important collections of European art, including works of art by distinguished artists such as Degas, Renoir, Modigliani and Bonnard, among others. *Acervo do Palácio dos Bandeirantes: The headquarters of the State Government has an important collection of works of art by Brazilian artists, such as Portinari, Aldo Bonadei, Djanira, Almeida Júnior, Victor Brecheret, Ernesto de Fiori and Aleijadinho. Additionally, it also gathers colonial furniture, leather and silver artefacts, and European tapestry. In eclectic style, its walls are covered with panels describing the history of São Paulo. * Museu da Imagem e do Som: Opened in May, 1990, the main aim of Museu da Imagem e do Som (Image and Sound Museum) is to keep and preserve manifestations in the music, cinema, photography, and graphical arts areas, as well as any other manifestation related to the Brazilian contemporary life. MIS has a collection of more than 200000 images, distributed in thematic collections of diverse content. It has more than 1600 fiction videotapes, documentaries and music, and 12750 titles recorded in Super 8 and 16 mm. Additionally, MIS organizes concerts, cinema and video festivals, and photography and graphical arts exhibitions. In addition to the museums, the following landmarks are frequently touristed: *Paulista Avenue (one of the most important thoroughfares of the city and the site of many cultural centers and museums, such as the MASP and Centro Cultural Itaú). *Brooklin (a financial and residential district). *Banespa Building (skyscraper with observation deck and museum designed after the Empire State building). *Catedral da Sé (the metropolitan cathedral, a symbol of the city). *Edifício Copan, designed by Oscar Niemeyer, in the Centro neighbourhood. Built between 1951 and 1966, its wavy shape gives the building an impression of movement, and the integration of small businesses and residential flats are of innovative urbanism. *Edifício Itália (skyscraper with observation deck). *Estação da Luz (historical railway station built 1895-1901). *Ibirapuera Park (the second largest park of the city (Parque do Carmo is the biggest), is also home to several museums. It is known for its buildings designed by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, such as the Oca and the new Ibirapuera Auditorium). *Mooca (Italian district of São Paulo). *Liberdade (Asian district of São Paulo). *Mercado Municipal (historical market place in São Paulo). *Municipal Theatre of São Paulo (magnificent opera house built in the early 20th century.) *Museu de Arte Sacra (museum of religious art located in a colonial convent). *Museum of the Portuguese Language (located inside Estação da Luz). *Pátio do Colégio (founding site of the city, former Jesuit mission-school to convert the natives to Catholicism). *Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo (important museum of Brazilian art). *Praça da Sé (large square next to the São Paulo Cathedral. Official centre of the city). *Shopping Malls Jardim Sul, Iguatemi, Ibirapuera, Morumbi, Eldorado, Pátio Higienópolis, Anália Franco, Bourbon, Cidade Jardim, and many others. Weather São Paulo has a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate. In summer, temperatures are between 17°C and 28°C, and 32°C on the hottest days. In winter, are between 11°C and 23°C, and 6°C, on the coldest days. The average temperatures throughout the year are similar to those of Sydney and Los Angeles. Rainfall is abundant, amounting to an annual average of 1454 millimetres. It is especially common in the warmer months when the average rainfall is 219 millimetres, and decreases in winter, when the average drops to 47 millimetres. Getting There & Away São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport is the busiest airport in Brazil, with flight connections to most parts of Latin America and Brazil. It also has flights to Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami, New York, Houston, Newark, Atlanta, Detroit, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington-Dulles in the United States; Paris, Rome, Zürich, Barcelona, Madrid, Frankfurt, Munich, Lisbon, Porto and London in Europe; Istanbul, Tel Aviv, Seoul, Beijing, Singapore, Doha, Dubai and Luanda. The other main airport, Congonhas Airport operates flights mainly to Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte and Brasília. The city is crossed by 10 major Brazilian motorways and automobiles are still the main means to get into the city. The Brazilian rail network has been superseded by the motorways, and a big long-distance inter-city bus network. Getting Around The city has an underground railway system with 5 lines in operation and 59 stations, and is complemented by Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos railways. There is also a very big bus and trolley bus network. Accommodation Category:Brazil Category:São Paulo